I have a quick question for all of you who read this. It will help settle an argument. So, please read the question I have below, and leave your response in a comment to this post. Please, do not read any other comments that there may be. I want your first, honest, unbiased response. Thanks!

The question refers to “at risk” children. For the sake of uniformity, let us say that “at risk” children are those who are a year or more behind in basic skills. My question: What do you think causes students to be at risk? List any/all causes you can.

a stable home which values and can support learning outside of the classroom (this includes having the time and space to work at home, having people consistently saying education is important, etc.).

a stable school which values and can support learning inside the classroom (this includes having the time and space to learn at school without things getting in the way, having teachers [and peers] consistently saying education is important, etc.).

In order of likelihood:
Stressful home life
Stressful school environment which leads to absenteeism
Not getting help when the student first starts to fall behind, the effect snowballs and the student feels like it’s too late or they’re too embarrassed to admit they don’t understand “anything”
Learning disability (diagnosed or not)
Culture of math/school not being important (learned from home, society, gang, etc.)

Pushed through grades by the system when they should not have been pushed; lack of parent supports; no adult role model; no one to talk to and give helpful advice during critical time; lack of motivation and confidence; do not have good peers; receive punishments instead of disciplines; do not see points in doing academic works and getting the education.

I would have to say it is a combination of several things, but more specifically the child’s home life/ parents, and then his/her confidence level, attention span, and style of learning.
If good discipline and reinforcement from the parents is lacking, it begins to create a negative image or process or foundation in the child, because our parents are our first teachers. So if the child is not being encouraged or supported by his/her parent(s), it does not leave a strong foundation to stand on.
Different children learn in different ways, so I think it is important then for the teacher to be astute enough to hone his/her skills to be able to teach the same material in as many different ways in order to achieve better understanding in the classroom. A game of semantics if you will. Also on the part of the teacher, knowing the basic background of the students will help give a point of reference for what might be an overall general method for the particular class.
I believe everyone is capable of understanding a singular thought, but the route to which that thought is achieved, will be different for all.